David Kwiatkowski, 34, admitted Wednesday that he was stealing drugs at Exeter Hospital and causing 32 patients to become infected with hepatitis C.

Under the plea deal, Kwiatkowski will be sentenced to 30-40 years in prison in December. Some victims said they wanted a stiffer penalty.

"The first thing I said to these victims is, 'I can't give you justice,'" said U.S. Attorney John Kacavas. "I can't give them justice. I can't give them their health back."

Kacavas declined to elaborate on the health of the 32 New Hampshire patients infected with the hepatitis C virus, but he said their conditions are certainly not improving. A handful of victims and their families were in the courtroom as Kwiatkowski told the judge, "I am guilty."

"We can't give them compensation," Kacavas said. "That's why they have civil attorneys and civil suits pending, many of them. What we can give them is some measure of justice within the criminal justice system."

Kacavas said the victims are dealing with a condition that will affect them for the rest of their lives.

"The victims support this disposition for the most part but are frustrated that they will carry this infection for the rest of their lives and feel that the defendant should spend the rest of his life behind bars," Kacavas said.

For the 32 patients infected by Kwiatkowski, it was a difficult day. They said they were glad his case won’t be going to trial, but they’re upset he could one day get out of prison while they spend the rest of their lives with hepatitis C.

“Hey David, you remember my face when I was laying in bed and I asked you why your eyes, why you were sweating?” said a victim who identified himself as John Doe. “You remember my face, buddy? Forty years you will remember it.”

The man said he’s not happy Kwiatkowski could taste freedom again, even if it is in the 2040s or 2050s.

“We all have to live with this,” he said. “This ain’t over for us, you know? He gets to sit in jail, gets three squares a day, you know what I mean? He’s got a cot to sleep on. To me, that ain’t right.”

He recalled the agonizing hours after his open heart surgery as he went without pain medication while Kwiatkowski used the fentanyl that was intended for him. He remembers the medical tech had bloodshot eyes and was sweating profusely. He said he thought to himself Kwiatkowski was clearly high on something.

“Either he was smoking marijuana or he was drinking – one of the two,” he said. “I had no idea about this.”

Kwiatkowski pleaded guilty to seven counts of tampering with a consumer product and seven counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud, as well and two charges in Kansas, where he also worked. Kwiatkowski admitted to the judge that he swapped syringes at Exeter Hospital approximately 50 times during the 14 months he worked there.

Kacavas said his office is restricted by a set of laws and rules that are meant to keep emotion out of the justice system.

"I understand victims who want nothing less than a life sentence or the death penalty," Kacavas said. "I get that, but our system does not allow for that."

Kacavas said the investigation is ongoing, and more people could face charges in the coming months.

UPSET THAT HE WILL GET OUT OF PRISON AND THEY WILL HAVE TO LIVE WITH HIS HEPATITIS C. DAVID ADMITTED GUILT AND HE IS GETTING A THREE OR FOUR DECADE RISEN TERM -- PRISON TERM. HEY, DAVID. YOU'RE MY FACE WILL STOP WHEN I WAS LAYING IN BED. 40 YEARS. YOU REMEMBER THAT. THIS MAN WENT BY JOHN DOE IN HIS FIRST CONFERENCE. WE ALL HAVE TO LIVE WITH THIS. HE GETS TO SIT IN JAIL AND GET THREE SQUARES A DAY. YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? HE HAS A COT TO SLEEP ON. YOU ME, THAT IS NOT RIGHT. THE FIRST THING I SAID WAS, I CANNOT GIVE YOU JUSTICE. I CANNOT GIVE THEM JUSTICE. I CANNOT GIVE THEM THEIR HEALTH BACK. JOHN DOE RECALLS THE AGONIZING HOURS AFTER HIS HEART SURGERY WHEN HE DID NOT GET PAIN MEDICATION. THE MEDICAL TECH HAD BLOODSHOT EYES AND WAS SWEATING. HE THOUGHT THAT THE MAN WAS HIGH ON SOMETHING. HE WAS SMOKING MARIJUANA OR DRINKING. AS HE HEADS TO SENTENCING, THE ATTORNEYS ARE LOOKING IN TO HOW ONE MAN WAS ABLE TO INFECT SO MANY PATIENTS. OUR INVESTIGATION IS NOT DONE. HE FACES SENTENCING ON DECEMBER 3. BETWEEN 30 OR 40 YEARS.